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Back-Lit Figure Oil Painting Woman Dynamic Lighting by Michael Malm

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Painting the Back-lit Figure

🌅 Light from behind changes everything. In this in-depth demo, Michael Malm leads you through how to paint a figure that’s mostly in shadow—but rings with light from behind. The magic lies in subtle value transitions, edge control, and color temperature inside the glow. 

You’ll learn how to:
🎯 Set up or choose reference for a back-lit figure scene: placing light-even in a forest, determining how much rim light to show, and how shadows wrap the body. 
🖌️ Balance shape, value, and edge control so the figure reads clearly even when large parts are in shadow. 
🌗 Handle color temperature and complex lighting effects inside shadow zones—so your darks still hold life and vibrancy. 
🌳 Simplify or design the background so it supports and enhances the light-effect rather than competing with it. 

Perfect for artists with strong foundational skills who want to push their lighting, narrative and portrait/figure work into a more dramatic, professional realm. 🕒 Runtime: 1+ hour

  • Michael Malm

    Instructor

  • Advanced

    Difficulty
Meet your instructor

Michael Malm

Michael lives in the beautiful Cache Valley of northern Utah with his wife, Juanita, and their four children. The surrounding rural communities and setting provide backdrops for his figure paintings and inspiration for his landscapes. His serious study began under Del Parson at Dixie College where he completed his associate’s degree. He then went on to Southern Utah University where he had the opportunity to study with Perry Stewart, and completed his formal education at Utah State University where he received a Master of Fine Arts Degree studying under Glen Edwards. Workshops have also played an important part of his development studying with such master painters as Richard Schmid, Burton Silverman, Daniel Gerhartz, Quang Ho, Ron Hicks, Michael Workman, and Jim Norton.

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